Knew All Along
by Sketchartist6
Summary: My first time ever posting fanfiction! (Please be gentle with me!) Currently a oneshot (but will write more if people like it). A rewrite of Troublemaker, it follows very closely until a key moment when it starts to diverge (future chapters would diverge more and be much less copied). Adrinette and I suppose a little Marichat and rated T right now. Don't think I'll leave PG rating


"~Flour, eggs and buttah! And fire in the oven…~" Jagged Stone and Tom Dupain sing to the tune of "Smoke on the Water" on Adrien Agreste's enormous personal television. Adrien and his Kwami, Plagg, were watching, well, Adrien was; Plagg was occupied with a plate of cheese. He swallowed. "Oh come on! Are you finally gonna put cheese on that bread or what? Since when do you have any interest in this show?" Adrien smiled, eyes glued to the screen. "The show is being shot at Marinette's."

"~This is the Baker's Rock'N'Roll!~" Jagged and Tom finish singing, then Jagged calls off-screen, "Yo, Marinette! My favorite little lady, come over and rock with us!" The camera pans to Marinette, her mother, and Jagged's assistant, Penny. Sabine encourages her daughter forward and Marinette heads to the set, waiting nervously at the camera.

On the other side of the screen, Adrien smiled broadly at his on-screen friend. Plank watches him and hums knowingly.

Marinette is giving a toothy, awkward smile. Jagged goes on to tell Alec, the showrunner, and the audience about Marinette and the cover art to Jagged's latest album, done by Marinette, appears on screen.

Adrien recalls her accomplishment with pride, the album she signed for him laid on the desk nearby.

"Can you grab a bag of flour, please dear?" Tom asks Marinette. "Sure, dad." Marinette goes to help but her clumsiness gets the better of her and Jagged is covered in flour.

Adrien laughs but is sympathetic to Marinette embarrassment though the star took it well. The show cuts to commercial. Adrien sits back, having not realized how far forward he was leaning. "Marinette must be thrilled. She loves Jagged Stone and I bet the PR on her accomplishments will help her design dreams. I wonder how she feels about the spotlight though. It can be pretty rough." Adrien says all this aloud, to himself as much as Plagg. "Planning on swooping in to save the princess if the public bares its fangs at her?" Plagg asks, polishing off the cheese Adrian gave him. Adrien's smile falls. "I don't know if 'Adrien' could do much without making it worse but I certainly would try."

"And we're back on the air with Jagged Stone…"

Adrien returns his attention to the show and is surprised to see they have left the bakery and are now in Marinette's room. "Does she know they are in there?" Adrien mumbles.

"Hey, there are more photos of this dude than of me! I think the baker's daughter's got a little crush." Jagged announces to the world with a wink.

Adrien turns pink in surprise and… Pleasure? "Lookee here. Another secret admirer," Plagg needles him.

Alec and Jagged continue to poke around Marinette's room, holding up and trying on things Marinette likely made, when Marinette cries out off-screen. "What're you-you guys doing in here?!" Penny apologizes while Jagged obliviously offers to sign a poster of himself, then the camera lands on Marinette, who is visibly distressed. "I need everyone to leave! Stop filming! Penny, do something!" "You heard the lady," Penny says firmly and starts pushing people out when the video cuts out and is replaced by a car commercial.

Adrien turns to Plagg in outrage "What a gross invasion of privacy! Marinette must feel so violated and upset." "What's her prince gonna do about it?" Plagg teases and Adrien frowns. "I could call, see if she is alright. But then she'd know I saw it and that could make it worse." Adrien sighs heavily, stumped, when the show suddenly comes back on air. Adrien is shocked to see sweet, Mrs. Cheng twirling a peel like a martial arts master before pointing it at someone past the camera.

"I demand an apology!" She cries. Her husband speaks off-screen to her, asking what's wrong when a grunt of pain and an accusatory yell is heard. The camera shifts to Mr. Dupain, holding a guitar who goes head-to-head with the producer. "I could pretend this isn't bothering me, but now you've gone too far Mr!"

Plaqg speaks up, "This is getting interesting."

Sabine has joined the standoff. A series of crashes and grunts can be heard as the camera is jolted around until landing on a, once again, flour-covered Jagged. He cries out that there is a ghost before calling out for Penny. A door slams and the bakery's security shields close, blocking all exits and everyone is left terrified. The producer asked if the bakery was built on a cemetery.

The camera goes wild again, briefly landing on members of the scared group as objects go flying and crashing all over. "Hello, Jagged." The camera steadies on a strangely dressed woman who seems to have appeared from nowhere. Jagged cries for Penny's help but the woman speaks, "There's no more 'Penny' to deal with all your problems, Jagged! From now on, there's only Troublemaker!"

"An akuma! "Adrien exclaims. "Maybe a prince can't do anything, but at knight can!" "Save me a baguette while you are at it. I just love camembert on sourdough!" Plagg says practically drooling. "I think I can manage to save the princess, the day, and your stomach at the same time. Plagg, claws out!"

Chat Noir swoops in and lands in front of the bakery where Nadia Chamayk is reporting live about the akuma. "Hey everyone, let me take care of this. It'll be a piece of cake!" Chat tries to lift the security shield but it doesn't budge. _Well, that's embarrassing._ Chat loses his grip and stumbled back. He reaches up to call out his Cataclysm when his hand is grabbed by the villain who snuck up behind him. "So you wanna play rescue? No one is going to be rescued today!" She says before hurling him. Chat shrieks before hitting a van, his vision going white at the explosion of pain and leaving a Chat-sized dent in the vehicle. _Thank God for magic suits and miraculous waves. A normal person would've broken something_. Something grabs his leg and Chat is pulled back into the air with another scream. This time he lands softer on a cloth chair on Marinette's balcony and is facing his lady. "You are right Chat Noir?" Ladybug asks, holding a hand out to him. "Better thanks to you, Bugaboo." He reaches out to take it but it is rescinded. "Stop calling me 'Bugaboo'! Follow me." Ladybug jumps off the rail and through the trapdoor. Chat follows her and calls out, "Let's break some bread!"

Adrien had visited Marinette's room before. It was cute and pink with different art and fashion supplies in, somewhat, organized piles all over the place. When Chat entered, his gaze was drawn to a corkboard plastered with pictures. A class photo, himself, Marinette's girlfriends, himself… He hadn't realized he had slowed down until Ladybug physically redirected his gaze. "We can take the grand tour later, Chat." Her expression was tight. Chat only half hears however, distracted by sound.

In a flurry of movement, Chat has thrown the mattress they were on up, just in time to shield them from the barrage of knitting needles. Without warning, Ladybug pushes it back down and Chat is thrown to the floor. "Sorry!" She says quickly, joining him on the lower level. They dodge a parasol and Ladybug throws her yo-yo but it just passes through. Marinette's chaise is thrown next and releases a flurry of paper. One lands on Chat's face and he finds himself face-to-face with his own smiling, civilian face. Ladybug snatches it away with a curt, "I said later, Chat!" before being knocked over by thrown trunk. Chat quickly refocuses and not a moment too soon. Troublemaker has re-materialized right behind his lady and is reaching for her earrings.

In a moment, Chat cries out a warning while tripping his lady out of reach and landing (finally) a successful strike. Troublemaker's pen flies across the room. "The akuma is inside the pen!" Ladybug cries out the realization. All three lunge for it, nearly landing on top of each other. But Troublemaker grabbed first and clicks to dematerialize. "Touch me if you dare!" she says with a little giggle and sinks through the floor.

Chat Noir wants to groan in frustration. "What are we gonna do? I can't touch it with a 10 foot pole, even if I wanted to." Ever optimistic and quick-thinking, Ladybug clears his worries. "Her strength is her weakness. In order to touch us, she must become touchable herself!" They stand and Ladybug clears her throat loudly. Chat looks at her, but it takes a pointed glance for him to realize he was still holding her hand. He blushes and makes an awkward show of giving it back, ending with finger guns. _Finger guns?! Really?_ The duo runs down the hatch into the family's living room and each quickly takes a defensive stance facing away from each other. "She's probably in this room! If she wants to take our miraculous, she can't be untouchable." "And if we can grab her, we can also grab her pen," Chat continues her thought. "And capture the akuma! But we will have to act fast!" As if on cue, Ladybug cries out and Chat finds his arm, with his ring, twisted painfully behind him. Desperately, he clenches his fist to prevent the ring's removal. Ladybug wraps Chat and the villain in her yo-yo but it quickly go slack as Troublemaker slips away. Chat, without a moment to free himself, is kicked face-first into a bookcase. _Ow. I am not winning today._ From the other side of the room, he hears Troublemaker say something triumphantly and his lady gives a helpless, "No!" Chat forces his eyes open and takes in the horror of his ladybug pinned (by someone other than himself) and patches of her suit glowing white-pink instead of red. But it is her whimper of fear that launches him into overdrive. He frees himself and calls for his destructive power and throw some self at her attacker. His fierce protection is dodged but Ladybug's missing earring falls out of Troublemaker's grasp. Chat rolls out of the lunge, careful of his powered-up hand, and whips around for another go. But Troublemaker is gone, leaving his lady groping around for her lost earring, her mask half gone. And Chat is looking at half of a familiar face.

Her eyes are still bluebell blue, her face is flushed but revealed are normally hidden freckles peppering her nose. Her hair, so dark it is almost blue, is in her signature twin-tails. Chat catches himself staring as Ladybug, no Marinette, watches her costume right itself. He manages to pull off an act that he was looking out for Troublemaker and not at her. Mari – Ladybug breathes a sigh. "That was a close call. Thanks for the assist." _Say something!_ "I can think of so many better ways to find out your identity than a forced unmasking." _Shut up, shut up!_ Ladybug looks at him cautiously, Chat throws on a calm, model smile. _I know nothing. Stop looking at me…_ "Now isn't the time to debate better ways, we've got butts to kick. Lucky Charm!" Following a flash of light, into Ladybug's hands falls… "A broken plate?" She glances around, going so far as to turn behind her. "That's strange, I don't see how to use it!" "Could losing an earring have weakened your power?" Chat Noir took a closer look at the plate, careful of his hand is still glowing with power. He considered the time ticking down to a detransformation and before his thoughts returned to her half-unmasking. In his distraction, he slow to notice her finding and picking up a tube of glue. "Seriously?" he says skeptically.

Hunting for trouble(maker) again, Chat extends his arm ahead, his other hand holding it steady, like a policeman would with a gun. "Come out, come out! We aren't looking for any 'trouble'." Ladybug groans at the pun but puts her helpless voice on rather than chide him. "Be careful, Chat Noir! She could come from _anywhere_ to get my miraculous!" _Attention grabbed, leaving the bait…_ "She's not here. I'll check the roof. Stay here!" He leaps up and passes through the skylight. Even in an act, it's hard to listen to his love's fearful tone, calling him back, but Chat stays out of sight. He hears Trouble's cackle and Ladybugs panicked cry. _Wait…_ The shattering of the plate and, a moment later, Ladybugs beg "Stop!" _WAIT._ A quiet moment before… "What?!" And that is cue. Chat jumps back down the trap door into the loft, watching the scene of his lady, straddled again (grr), mockingly saying, "Having some trouble?" (Love when she puns 3). "Aw, my poor Bugaboo! Another supervillain has literally glued themselves to you." He shows troublemaker the super glue tube. "Sorry to disappoint, but only I can stick to milady!" He jumps down as Troublemaker starts to thrash, trying to free herself but Ladybug won't let go. Chat, carefully amid the flurry of movement, slips the pen out of from Troublemaker's hand and brushes his cataclysm on it. Troublemaker is trouble no more. Ladybug catches the akuma and releases it before sending out her purifying wave.

Chat looks lovingly down at Ladybug, who is taking care of a confused Penny. _With or without the mask. I love her._ Her earrings beep a warning and she moves to depart, Chat following her and they stand together a moment on her balcony. Ladybug hesitates then, biting her lip. "You…" "Gotta go, M'lady," Chat cuts her off and vaults away, Ladybug left with a hand extended toward his shrinking shape.

"Claws in." Adrien's transformation drops midfall after vaulting through the window back into his room. He throws himself on the bed and begins a muffled rant into his pillow as he flutter kicks into his mattress. Plagg floats over, momentarily distracted from his need for cheese. "Adrien?" More muffled ranting. "I don't speak pillow." A muffled groan. "Adrien! Isn't this a good thing? You know who's the girl behind the mask!" A heavy sigh and he gets up.

"I am happy. I can't believe I found out. I can't believe it's Marinette!" Adrien looks down at his hands. "But she doesn't want me to know. Even if accidentally, I violated her trust. What if she hates me!" he lets himself fall sideways back onto the bed. "I'm not sure Marinette likes 'Adrien' that much anyway, with how she asks around me. Ladybug...Mari herself said she liked someone else. Someone who broke her heart…" Plagg nibbled on his Camembert. "Well," chews. "Be better than the guy who makes her sad. Steal her away."

By this point, Plagg's train of thought devolved a bit in favor of cheese, but Adrien perks and shoots back up. "That's it! Make her fall for me!" Adrien jumps up and tries to pull Plagg in for a hug but he quickly wiggles out. "Ey! Watch the cheese!" Adrien laughs but pauses at a thought. "What was up with those pictures?"

The next day at school, Adrien had arrived early and was hanging around Marinette's locker. "No wait… Let's not jump her right here.." He walks away a bit and is rewarded by the sight of Marinette trying to sneak to her locker unnoticed. Adrien stifles a laugh and has a very 'Chat' thought. He plants himself next to her, hidden by her own open locker door. He hears a heavy sigh of relief and her mumbling to herself. She closes her door, and unable to hold back, Adrien immediately says hi, startling Marinette badly. Mirth touching his voice, Adrien says, _Be natural. Model smile. I don't know you are Ladybug. Fall in love with me. What was up with the pictures? _"How are you? After what happened at your place, I was worried..." Marinette went bright red and cut him off. "Oh, so you watched the show, then!" She laughs nervously before taking a serious tone. "Well, uh, look...about what you saw on the show last night... the totographs, in my room.." Adrien's heart races, _The photos! Yes? "_You mean the photographs?" Marinette blushes harder. "The grotographs, exactly! It-it's not what you think". She bites her lip. _Adorably._ "See...I'm really into fashion, and, umm…"

Adrien impishly leans forward and stared hard into her eyes, unable to hold himself back. "Are you lying?" _Do you...possibly…? "_No!" Marinette steps away and avoids his eyes. "I'm so not into you." Adrien's heart sinks. "I mean, sure, I'm interested in you." _You are?! _ "but, um, not in that way; well, you know, ha-ha-ha-ha...ha ha!" Adrien hides his disappointment. _I can work with that. "_Just teasing." Adrien placing his arm over her shoulder. _Casually_. "I understand; don't worry. I've got used to having lots of fans...and, photographs of me everywhere — even in the most...unlikely places…" Marinette laughs, "As if someone would have a picture of you under her bed, right?" Adrien lets his arm fall, grazing her back. "Yeah. I was wondering; since you're into fashion so much, you could come watch my next photoshoot!" Marinette lights up with excitement. "No way! For you?—peal—meal— For real?" _I would invite you to every shoot to make you look like that. _Adrien instead said, "Honestly, it's pretty long and boring, but if you were there, it would definitely be more fun! Whaddaya say?" Marinette, very excitedly, throws her arms up. "Oh wow! Yes!" She blushes and contains herself. "Thank you, Adrien." _I'm gonna die. Too cute. _A bit red himself and his voice a fraction higher, Adrien says, "I'll keep you posted, then." _Leave before you get weird._ "See you later in class." He pauses at the door. Before he can think better of it, Adrien turns back. "I'm glad to have you as one of my fans." He turns quickly to hide a creeping blush but allows himself a glance backward and a wave as he slips through the door.

Away from _her_ eyes, Adrien heaves a sigh and nearly sprints away, hoping to expend the nervous energy and hide the cause for his intense blush. The classroom is still empty at this time and he collapses into his seat. "Nervous much?" Plagg peeks out of his shirt. "You think that was too much? I think it was too much." Adrien babbles. "I think you got a date." Plagg gives him finger guns. Adrien goes white. "I'll have to model. And focus. While she watches me?"


End file.
